Refuse truck

ABSTRACT

A refuse collection and packing truck is disclosed which has a hollow horizontally disposed body mounted thereon for the storage of collected refuse. Within the hollow body is a movable press plate attached to a first drive means for moving the press plate both in a forwardly and in a rearwardly direction within the hollow body. A second and more powerful drive means is provided for moving the press plate in a rearward direction only. The hollow body has a side mounted chute-like door arrangement for receiving refuse therein. The door arrangement is mechanically movable and transfers refuse to within the hollow body. The first drive means is then employed to move the press plate in a rearward direction in order to create a pile of loosely packed refuse. The second drive means is of greater power than the first drive means and is operative only to drive the press plate in a rearward direction for compressing the collected refuse against the rear gate of the hollow body.

Unite States atent 1 Fishburne REFUSE TRUCK [76] Inventor: Francis B. Flshburne, 24 Summit Dr., Asheville, N.C. 28704 [22] Filed: Mar. 31, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 239,924

[111 3,750,813 14 1 Aug. 7, 1973 Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner--R. B. Johnson Attorney-D. C. Roylance et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A refuse collection and packing truck is disclosed which has a hollow horizontally disposed body mounted thereon for the storage of collected refuse. Within the hollow body is a movable press plate attached to a first drive means for moving the press plate both in a forwardly and in a rearwardly direction within the hollow body. A second and more powerful drive means is provided for moving the press plate in a rearward direction only. The hollow body has a side mounted chute-like door arrangement for receiving refuse therein. The door arrangement is mechanically movable and transfers refuse to within the hollow body. The first drive means is then employed to move the press plate in a rearward direction in order to create a pile of loosely packed refuse. The second drive means is of greater power than the first drive means and is operative only to drive the press plate in a rearward direction for compressing the collected refuse against the rear gate of the hollow body.

8 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures MENIEU 3.750.818

saw 2 ur s PAIENIED SKII30F5 M QFk REFUSE TRUCK SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION refuse trucks have employed many different types of devices to increase the carrying capacity of the truck. The packing apparatus previously known, however, has been generally of the type which employ a moving member to crush the refuse against a fixed wall within the truck. This activation of the packing mechanism requires a great deal of energy because the compressive force to be developed upon the press plate must be very high in order to compress the refuse. Consequently,

such refuse trucks must use a great deal of power every time the press plate is activated.

The prior art refuse trucks have generally been designed to have an opening for receiving refuse from trash cans and the like. This receiving area is typically limited in size so that the sanitation worker can only deposit a certain amount of refuse within the truck before the press plate must be activated to compress the refuse. Consequently, the high power requirements of the press plate necessitate the use of large amounts of fuel with a resulting high cost of operation of these refuse trucks.

As a consequence of the foregoing discussion, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a refuse collection truck which operates more efficiently than the prior art refuse trucks.

It is yet another object of the present inventionto provide a refuse collection truck which employs a movable press plate for both moving refuse within the truck and also for compressing the refuse.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a refuse truck in which the refuse loading door is power operated and which has the beneficial effect of compressing refuse within the truck in a different direction than the movable press plate.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a refuse truck wherein the press plate is moved by either a hydraulic motor of a hydraulic cylinder and the loading door is powered by a dual acting hydraulic cylinder, each hydraulic element being powered by a common hydraulic power source.

The above objects and features of the present invention are achieved generally by a truck having a hollow body mounted thereon. Movably positioned within the body is a press plate which is movable along a longitudinal axis within the hollow body. A first, low power drive means is provided for moving the press plate in either a forward or rearward direction within the hollow body. This low power drive means is capable of moving loosely packed refuse within the hollow body. A second high power drive means is provided to force the press plate in a rearward direction, the power of the second drive means being capable of compressing the loosely packed refuse into a highly dense packed mass. The refuse truck of the present invention is further provided with a power operated loading door upon the side of the truck. The loading door in combination with two panel members forms a chute into which the sanitation worker can place the refuse. Upon activation of the loading door, the door, which forms the bottom of the chute, closes against the wall of the hollow body portion and causes the refuse to be placed into the hollow body of the truck. The motion of the side door as it closes provides a compressive force in a different direction from that of the press plate which serves to compact the refuse placed within the refuse truck.

In order to further understand the pertinent objects, features and advantages of the present invention, reference is made to the following more particular description with the accompanying drawings which form a part of this original disclosure in which:

FIG. I is a perspective view of the refuse truck constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a different perspective view as seen from the side and slightly behind the refuse: truck;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of the refuse truck;

FIG. 4 is a front end elevational view of a portion of the refuse truck;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the press plate and its support members; 7

FIGS. 6,7 and 8 are different perspective views of the rear gate locking mechanism; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the hydraulic controls for the power mechanisms of the present invention.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings and specifically to FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 refers to a conventional truck assembly with a cab 12, a pair of spaced longitudinal frame rails 14, rear supporting and driving wheels 16, and front steering wheels 18. The details of the truck 12 form no part of this invention and may, for purposes thereof, be any vehicle with sufficient power to transport the refuse collection apparatus hereinafter described.

Extending rearwardly from the cab 12 and disposed above the pair of spaced frame rails 14 is a horizontally disposed hollow body shown generally as 20. The hollow body 20 incorporates two substantially vertically spaced side panels 22, a horizontally disposed floor 24 positioned above the frame rails 14 and between the side panels 22, a roof 26 horizontally disposed above the floor 24 and also between the side panels 22, a rear door 28 anda generally vertically supported movable press plate 30 being movable within the hollow body 20.

The hollow body 20 is so constructed that the roof 26 extends in a rearward direction beyond the rearmost point of the floor 24.

The rear door 28 is hingedly attached at its uppermost portion about axle 32. The rear door 28 is main tained against the rearmost portions of the roof 26, the floor 24, and the two side panels 22 by a securing mechanism shown generally as 34.. While secured in this position, the rear door 28 provides a rigid surface against which refuse, within the hollow body 20, can be packed against by the movement of press plate 30 in a rearward direction.

Positioned on the right hand side and at its forwardmost portion upon the hollow body 20 is a substantially rectangularly shaped side door 36 which is hingeably mounted at its bottommost portion to the right side panel 22 of the hollow body 20. A piano type hinge 38 (see FIG. 9) is provided along the bottom edge of the door 36 to permit the side door to rotate about a horizontal axis passing through the piano type hinge 38. A shaft 40 extends in a forward direction from the side door 36 and is centered upon the axis passing through the hinge 38. Fixedly secured to the forwardmost end of the shaft 40 is a lever arm 42, the lever arm having a longitudinal axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of the rotation shaft 40. In addition, the lever arm 42 is positioned upon the end of shaft 40 in such a way as to extend from the shaft 40 towards the center of the truck and define an angle 44 between the longitudinal axis of the lever arm 42 and the longitudinal axis of the side door 36. The angle 44 is most ideally selected to be approximately 145, although this is not an absolute requirement.

At the end of the lever arm 42 not in contact with shaft 40 is a pivotal connection 46 between the lever arm 42 and a vertically extending piston rod 48 which is connected to the piston within the substantially vertically positioned hydraulic cylinder 50. The hydraulic cylinder 50 is pivotally mounted at its uppermost portion about pivot connection 52, the latter pivotal connection being between the hydraulic cylinder 50 and a frame member of the hollow body 20.

The hydraulic cylinder 50 is of the dual acting type and is provided with a first and a second hydraulic input labeled 54 and 56 respectively. When hydraulic fluid enters the first hydraulic input 54, the piston rod 48 is driven in a generally downward direction and out of the hydraulic cylinder 50. The downward motion of the piston rod 48 will cause the lever arm 42 to rotate in a clockwise direction about the axis of rotation of shaft 40. This, in turn, will cause the side door 36 to rise into a generally vertical position and come to rest at a point wherein the side door 36 is substantially vertical and coextensive with the right side panel 22 of the hollow body 20.

On the other hand, the entry of hydraulic fluid into the second hydraulic input 56 will cause the piston rod 48 to be drawn into the hydraulic cylinder 50. The movement of the piston rod 48 will cause the lever arm 42 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction about the axis of rotation of the shaft 40. This, in turn, will cause the side door 36 to open and move towards a substantially horizontal position which is depicted in FIG. 1.

Hingeably attached along the vertical edge of the side door opening upon the side panel 22 is a pair of spaced, planar side chute members 58. The side chute members 58 are shaped substantially in the form of a 90 arc of a circle and each is connected along its vertical edge to a piano hinge 60, the axis of rotation of the piano hinge being substantially vertical. A tie rod 62 is pivotally connected along the bottom edge of each of the chute members 58 at a point furthest from the side panel 22. This physical configuration allows the side of chute members 58 to be rotated about the axis passing through the hinges 60 and permit the side chute members to be folded against the right side panel 22 of the hollow body 20 as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2. To assist in moving the side chute members to the folded position, a spring 64, which is always is tension, i attached to one of the side chute members 58 and is also attached to a frame member of the hollow body 20. When the side door 36 is in its vertical position, the spring 64 will cause the side chute members 58 to be folded against the side panel 22. A catch 66 is provided upon the side panel 22 to secure the side chute members S8 to the side panel 22 wheneverthe side door 36 is closed.

Since the side chute members 58 are folded against the side of the truck when not in use, some provision is necessary to prevent the accidental actuating of the dual acting hydraulic cylinder 50 when the side chute members are folded against the truck. The desired protection is provided by a valve 65 along the hydraulic pipe line 134 which connects to the input 56 of the hydraulic cylinder 50. The valve 65 will open and let the hydraulic fluid in line 134 flow into the hydraulic fluid tank 138 whenever the pressure in line 134 exceeds a predetermined value. The valve 65 prevents the force of the hydraulic cylinder 50 from becoming so great as to rip the side chute members off the truck.

Because of the positioning of the side door 36 upon the hollow body 20 wherein refuse is placed upon the side door 36 when in a substantially horizontal position, the refuse is forced into the hollow body when the side door 36 is returned to its vertical position as the side chute members 58 and the side door 36 prevent the refuse from spilling onto the ground.

In addition, the side door 36 is capable of causing a certain amount of compaction of refuse within the hollow body 20. As the refuse fills the area adjacent the side door and in front of the press plate 30, the side door 36 will begin to compress the refuse between itself and the left side panel 22 and, thus, produce some degree of compaction of the refuse in a first direction which is substantially perpendicular to the direction of motion of the press plate 30.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESS PLATE Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 5, the press plate 30 is shown being disposed between the floor 24, the side panels 22 and the roof 26 and being supported upon a pair of horizontally disposed longitudinally running triangular shaped tracks 68 upon the side panels 22. The tracks 68 are located near the uppermost portion of the press plate 30 and are positioned within appropriately shaped grooves 70 on the press plate 30. The tracks 68 of the present invention are substantially traingularly shaped and, consequently, the grooves 70 upon the press plate 30 are most advantageously of a similar triangular shapeto permit the track 78 to support the weight of press plate 30.

The press plate 30 is constructed of a metal sheet-like plate 72 with a number of metal frame members 73 attached thereto. The metal plate 72 faces rearwardly and the frame members 73 face forwardly. The attached frame members 73 tend to prevent bending of plate 72 when the press plate 30 is driven in a rearward direction by the high power hydraulic cylinder shown generally as 74 in FIG. 3.

As viewed in FIG. 4, the high power hydraulic cylinder 74 is horizontally located centrally between the two sides of the hollow body 20. As viewed in FIG. 3, the high power hydraulic cylinder 74 is vertically positioned above the center of the press plate 30. The principal reason for the vertical positioning of the high power hydraulic cylinder 74 as shown is that the length of the cylinder is such that it must be positioned high enough to clear the roof of the cab 12 of the truck 10.

The high power hydraulic cylinder 74 is rigidly secured between two of the horizontally mounted beam support members 76 which are attached at their ends to vertical support members 78.

Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, a low power press plate drive means is provided to move the press plate 30 along the tracks 68 in either a forward or a rearward direction. This drive means includes a motor 80 mounted upon the lower of the two horizontal beam supports 76 as seen in FIG. 4. A first sprocket gear 82 is connected to the drive shaft of motor 80. A second sprocket gear 84 is positioned directly above the first sprocket gear 82 and is connected thereto by an endless chain 86 which engages the teeth upon the first and second sprocket gears 82 and 84. The second sprocket gear is rigidly mounted upon a drive shaft 88 which is horizontally supported by a pair of vertical support members 90 which are secured to the frame of the hollow body 20. The drive shaft 88 passes through bearings 92 mounted upon the supports 90. Attached to the opposite end of the drive shaft 88 from the second sprocket gear 84 is a third sprocket gear 94. Positioned directly above the third sprocket gear 94 is a fourth sprocket gear 96, the teeth of the third and the fourth sprocket gears 94 and 96 engaging a chain 98.

The sprocket gear 96 is rigidly connected to a drive shaft 100 which is supported at its ends by bearings 102 which are secured to the frame members of the hollow body 20. Mounted near each end of the drive shaft 100 is a sprocket gear 103. Extending rearwardly from each sprocket gear 104 is a chain 106 which extends above the uppermost portions of the hollow body and engages the teeth upon a sprocket gear 108 which is rotatably mounted about axle 32 at the rear of the hollow body 20. The chain 106 extends from the uppermost portion of the sprocket gear 104 above the roof 26 of the hollow body 20 until it contacts the teeth of sprocket 108. The chain then passes around the rearward side of the sprocket 108 and into the interior of the hollow body 20. The chain extends forwardly from the bottommost portion of the sprocket gear 108 until it contacts the bottommost portion of the sprocket 104 the chain being below the roof 26 along this portion of the chains path. At the point where the chain 106 is closest to the topmost portion of the press plate 30, it passes through a clamp shown generally as 110 which fixedly secures the chain 106 to the press plate 30.

The first press plate drive means will cause the press plate 30, as viewed in FIG. 3, to move in a rearward direction whenever the motor 80 drives the sprocket gear 82in a clockwise direction. In addition, it will be recognized from the fact that the sprocket gear 82 is smaller in diameter than the sprocket gear 84 and that the same relationship exists between sprocket gears 94 and 96 that the gear relationship between the motor 80 and drive shaft 100 is such that the sprocket gear 82 will rotate many times faster per second than will drive shaft 100.

HYDRAULIC SYSTEM Referring now to FIG. 9, a schematic of the hydraulic power system of the present invention is shown. A hydraulic power unit 112 of the type well known in the prior art is mounted upon the truck and connected by a hydraulic fluid pipe 114 to a triple acting hydraulic valve 116 through input P. The first outlet of valve 116 is labeled as A and is connected to a hydraulic fluid pipe 118 which connects at its other end to one input of the hydraulic motor 80. The second output of the hydraulic valve 116 labeled as B is connected to another hydraulic pipe 120 which connects at its other end to the second input to the hydraulic motor and further has a T connection 122 between the motor 80 and the hydraulic valve 116. Extending from the T connection 122 is another hydraulic fluid pipe 124 which connects to a sequence check valve 126. The output of the sequence check valve 126 runs through another hydraulic fluid pipe 128 and permits hydraulic fluid to flow into the high powered hydraulic valve 116 which permits hydraulic fluid to flow into the high powered hydraulic cylinder 74. The output labeled T of the hydraulic valve 116 connects to yet another hydraulic fluid pipe 130 which permits fluid to flow from the hydraulic valve 116 to the input labeled P ofa second bydraulic control valve 132. The output of the hydraulic valve 132 labeled B is connected by a hydraulic fluid pipe 134 to the valve 65 and the input 56 of hydraulic cylinder 50. The output labeled A of the hydraulic valve 132 is connected via the hydraulic fluid pipe 136 to the input labeled 54 of the hydraulic cylinder 50. The output labeled T of the hydraulic valve 32 is connected to the hydraulic fluid reservoir tank of the hydraulic unit 112 which is shown schematically as 138.

An additional hydraulic cylinder (see FIG. 9) is provided to assist in opening the side members from a folded position to the open position (shown in FIG. 1). The hydraulic cylinder 150 is connected to the pressure sensing valve 65 via a hydraulic fluid pipe 299. A return line 300 to the hydraulic fluid reservoir 138 is also provided.

The hydraulic cylinder 150 is substantially horizontally disposed and is pivotally attached at the other end to the left most side chute of member 58.

The hydraulic system has five modes of operation. In the first mode of operation, the press plate is moved in a forward direction under low power. In the second modev of operation, the press plate is moved in a rearward direction under low power. In the third mode of operation, the press plate is moved in a rearward direction under high power. In the fourt mode of operation, the side door is closed and the panels are moved to a position adjacent the body wall. in the fifth mode of operation, the panels are swung outwardly from their position adjacent the body wall and the side door is opened.

The first mode of operation is obtained when the hydraulic valves 116 and 132 are activated so as to connect the P input to the A output and to connect the B output to the T output in valve 116 and the P input to the T output in valve 132. In this mode of operation, the hydraulic valve 116 will cause hydraulic fluid to flow through pipe 118 into the hydraulic motor 80. From there the fluid will flow through line 120. If the hydraulic power unit 112 is only generating a low pressure upon the fluid, the sequence valve 126 will remain closed and, consequently, no fluid will flow along pipe 124 towards the hydraulic cylinder 74. The hydraulic fluid will continue through hydraulic valve 116 and return to the tank 138 via hydraulic control valve 132. In this mode of operation, the hydraulic motor 80 will be active to move the press plate in a forward direction (towards the front of the truck).

A second mode of operation is obtained when the hydraulic control valves 116 and 132 are activated so as to connect the P input to the B output and the A output to the T output in valve 116 and the P input to the T output in valve 132. When the hydraulic power unit 112 is operating under low power, hydraulic fluid will flow down pipe 120 towards the hydraulic motor 80 and back through pipe 118. Since the direction of flow of fluid through the hydraulic motor 80 is reversed from the first mode of operation for the control valve 116, the hydraulic motor will revolve in the opposite direction and will act to move the press plate in a rearward direction (towards the rear of the truck).

If the hydraulic power unit 112 is under high power and the hydraulic control valves 116 and 132 are activated as in the second mode, a third mode of operation is effected wherein the pressure of the hydraulic fluid impinging upon the sequence check valve 126 will be sufficient (greater than 1000 PSI) to open the sequence check valve 126 and permit hydraulic fluid to flow into the high pressure hydraulic cylinder 74. In this mode of operation, the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder 74 will extend in a leftwardly direction (as viewed in FIG. 9) to provide a large amount of force against the press plate 30. When the press plate contacts refuse within the hollow body, the refuse will be moved in a rearward direction and will be pressed against the rear door 28 by the great force imparted by the hydraulic cylinder 74. In the same mode of operation, the hydraulic motor 80 will also be active to drive press plate 30 in a rearward direction at the same speed as the hydraulic cylinder 74.

The sequence check valve 126 permits hydraulic fluid to flow from the hydraulic cylinder 74 to the hydraulic fluid line 120 when the hydraulic system is in its first mode and driving the press plate 30 towards the front of the truck. This operation permits the piston within the hydraulic cylinder 74 to return to a position nearer the front of the truck.

A fourth mode of operation is obtained by operating the control valve 132 so that the P input is connected to the A output and the T output is'connected to the B output and by operating valve 116 so that input P is connected to output T. In this mode hydraulic cylinder 50 is activated so as to close the side door 36, i.e., to raise side door from a horizontal position to a vertical position and hydraulic cylinder 150 will act to swing the side chute panel members 58 to a folded position against the side of the hollow body from their extended position.

When the control valve 132 is operated so that the P input is connected to the B output and the A output is connected to the T output and valve 116 has input P connected to output T, the fifth mode of operation is effected and the hydraulic fluid will flow in line 134 and open the side door. In this fifth mode, both hydraulic cylinders 50 and 150 will exert forces, wherein the hydraulic cylinder 50 will act to open the side door and the hydraulic cylinder 150 will act to swing the side chute members 58 from a folded position against the side of the hollow body to a position where each side chute member forms a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of the side of the hollow body. Since there is a pressure relief valve in line 134, the side door 36 will not be activated by hydraulic cylinder 50 with a sufficient force to tear the side chute members 58 from the side of the hollow body.

When the side cute members 58 are positioned perpendicular to the side of the hollow body, hydraulic cylinder 159 will be fully extended allowing the side door 36 to be lowered by the hydraulic cylinder 50. The side door 36 will move form a vertical to a horizontal position through a channel created by the two side chute members 58.

As was pointed out earlier, when the control valve 132 connects the P input to the A output and the T output is connected to the B output, the side door 36 will be raised from a substantially horizontal position to a vertical position. Under certain circumstances, the side door cannot be raised from its horizontal position to its vertical position directly. It has been found that this would cause some refuse to be spilled out of the chute. To overcome this problem, an automotive sequencing device might be installed to raise the side door part way to its vertical position. Then the side door woud be lowered some distance to allow the refuse in the chute to become redistributed. After the redistribution of the refuse upon the side door, the hydraulic cylinder 50 is again activated to raise the side door 36 to its vertical position.

SECURING MECHANISM Referring now to FIGS. 6-8, the securing mechanism 34 is shown in various positions wherein the rear door 28 is either fully closed or is in its open position The securing mechanism 34 is comprised of two essentially identical groups of elements, each group of elements being operative to partially encompass an car upon each side of the rear door 28.

Each securing means 34 is comprised of an ear engaging member 152 which is pivotally secured at one end to a lever arm 154.

As viewed in FIG. 8, each of the lever arms 154 are secured to and rigidly interconnected by a connecting rod 156 which is disposed below the floor 24 of the hollow body 20. The connecting rod 156 is rotatably secured to the underside of the truck by securing means (not shown) which permits the rotation of the connecting rod 156 about its longitudinal axis. The rotation of the lever arm 154 about the longitudinal axis of the connecting rod 156 is facilitated by a handle portion 158 which extends along the longitudinal axis of the lever arm 154 from a point on the lever arm 154 near the pivotal connection with the ear engaging member 152.

The securing mechanism 34 additionally includes an upper arm 160 associated with each ear engaging member and which is rigidly secured to the rear edge 162 of the side panel 22. From the securing point, the upper arm extends rearwardly and slightly downwardly and terminates in a portion 164 which is a plate-like portion disposed above the uppermost edge of the ear engaging member 152 and is substantially in a plane parallel to the ground plane beneath the truck. Each of the upper arms 160 prevents the ear engaging members 152 from disengaging from ears 150 when the door is closed.

A lower arm 166 is also provided and is disposed below the ear engaging member 152 and is also attachedto the side panel 22. The lower arm 166 comprises a plate-like structure positioned in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of side panel 22. The plane of the lower arm 166 is inclined to the ground plane beneath the truck so that the portions of the lower arm 166 closest to the forward end of the truck are somewhat higher above the ground than are the rear portions of the lower arm 166.

FIG. 6 shows the securing mechanism 34 in the position where the rear door 28 is closed permitting the press plate 30 within the refuse collection truck to either move or compact any refuse collected therein.

In order to remove the collected refuse, however, the rear door 28 must be opened. The positioning of the elements of the securing mechanism 34 in FIG. 8 substantially represents that position wherein the rear door 28 is partially open. The ears 150 upon the rear door 28 are shown engaging the ear engaging members 152. By continued clockwise rotation of the handle member 158 the ear engaging member 152 will eventually come in contact with the lower arm 166. After the contact of the ear engaging member 152 with the lower arm 166 the continued clockwise rotation of the handle member 158 will cause the ear engaging member 152 torotate in a counterclockwise direction about is pivotal connection with the lever arm 154. This counterclockwise motion of the ear engaging member 152 will cause the ears to disengage from the ear engaging member 152, permitting the rear door 28 to swing free.

Once the door is in an open position, the press plate 30 within the refuse collection truck can be activated in its low power mode to force the compacted refuse out of the turck. A refuse deflection plate 170 extends rearwardly and downwardly from the floor 24 of the truck to insure that the refuse, as it is expelled from the truck, will not fall directly underneath the rearwheels 16.

Once the refuse has been removed from the refuse collection truck, the rear door 28 can easily be closed by rotating the handle member 158 in a counterclockwise direction from that shown in FIG. 7. The counterclockwise rotation of the handle member 158 will cause the ear engaging member 152 to rotate about its pivotal connection with the lever arm 154 in a clock wise direction. This clockwise rotation will cause the engaging portion of the ear engaging member 152 to be positioned to engage the ears 150 upon the rear door 28 when the rear door 28 is manually moved towards its closed position. After the engagement of the ears 150 with the ear engaging members 152, the handle member 158 can be further rotated in a counterclockwise direction until it again is in the position shown in FIG. 6. The rear door is secured in its closed position by a locking mechanism, shown generally as 172, which locks the handle member 158 in the position shown in FIG. 6 and prevents the accidental opening of the rear door 28 either while the truck is being driven or while the compaction of refuse is occurring.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that the present invention provides a refuse collection truck which is capable of compacting refuse therein. The truck is provided with a side door located near the front of the hollow body mounted thereon. The sidedoor itself is hydraulically activated and, when the door is raised in order to place the refuse thereon into the truck, the side door operates to compress the refuse within the truck against the side wall. Inside the truck is a movable press plate which is powered by two different drive means. The first drive means is a low powered device which is operative to move refuse within the hollow body. The first drive means is also provided to move the rearwardly displaced pressure plate back to the front of the hollow body. A second drive means is provided by a high powered hydraulic cylinder which provides a great deal of force in the rearward direction and permits any refuse collected within the truck to be compressed against the rear door. When the truck becomes filled with compressed refuse, the truck would be driven to a land fill or other area where the securing mechanism would be opened, thereby permitting the rear door to swing free. By then activating the first drive means for the press plate, the compressed refuse within the truck can be easily forced through the rear opening of the truck, permitting the truck to be completely emptied. Upon resecuring the rear door to the sides of the hollow body, the truck is again ready for use in further collection of refuse.

After reading the foregoing detailed description, it will be apparent that the objects set forth at the outset of the specification have'been achieved by the present invention. However, since the foregoing detailed description has been directed to a preferred embodiment therefor, it will be recognized by those of skill in the art that various modifications may be readily made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following appended claims.

I claim:

1. A refuse collection and compaction truck having a hollow body for holding refuse therein, means for allowing refuse to be placed therein and taken from said hollow body, a movable press plate for displacing and compacting refuse placed in the hollow body, the improvement comprising:

a loading area and a compacting area each located in said hollow body,

a first press plate drive means for driving under low power said press plate in one direction from the loading area to the compacting; area, and in the opposite direction from the compacting area-to the loading area,

a second press plate drive means for driving said press plate in said one direction under high power to compact the refuse.

2. A refuse collection and compaction truck having a hollow body for holding refuse therein, means for allowing refuse to be placed within and taken from said hollow body, a movable press plate for displacing and compacting refuse placed in the hollow body, the improvement comprising:

a press plate drive means for driving said press plate in a forward direction and in a rearward direction,

a second press plate drive means for driving said press plate in a rearward direction,

a power source supplying both high and low power to the first and second press plate drive means, and

a power source control means to actuate selectively said first and second press plate drive means under low power to move the press plate in a forward direction, under low power to move the press plate in a rearward direction and under high power to move the press plate in a rearward direction.

3. The combination in claim 2 wherein said first press plate drive means includes a bidirectional hydraulic motor, the direction of operation of said motor being determined by the direction of flow of hydraulic fluid therethrough.

4. The combination in claim 2 wherein said second press plate drive means includes a'hydraulically operated power cylinder.

5. The combination in claim 2 wherein said power source includes a source of pressurized hydraulic fluid said source operating at a high or low power,

said power source control means including a control ward most edge ofsaid door being located adjacent valve having a first and second output, said valve the forwardmost portion of said press plate; connected at its input to said fluid source, a door operating means for moving said door bea first fluid pipe connected at one end to said first tween two positions, the first position of said door outlet and at its other end to said first press plate 5 being substantially vertical wherein said door is drive means, substantially coextensive with the side of said hola second fluid pipe connected at one end to said seclow body and the second position of said door ond outlet and at its other end to said first press being substantially horizontal; and plate drive means, a pair of spaced planar side members attached to the a third fluid pipe connected at one end to said second outside of the hollow body adjacent the vertical fluid pipe at a location between said ou let and said edges of said side door, said side members in comfirst press plate drive means and at its other end to bination with said door forming a chute for receivsaid second press plate drive means, wherein a seing collected refuse. quence check valve is located in said fluid pipe be- 7. The combination in claim 6 wherein said door optween said one end and said other end, erating means comprises:

wherein said control valve passes fluid through said a dual-acting hydraulic cylinder attached at one end first outlet to drive the first plate means and the to said door and at its other end to the hollow body, press plate in a forward direction when said source wherein said power source means is a hydraulic is operating at low power passes fluid through the power source and said control means is hydraulic second outlet to drive the first press plate drive valve means interposed between said power source means and the press plate in a rearward direction means and said hydraulic cylinder, said hydraulic when said source is operating at low power, and valve means operative to activate said hydraulic vpasses fluid through the second outlet to drive the cylinder and move said door between its first and first press plate drive means and passes fluid second position. through the third fluid pipe and through the se- 8. The combination in claim 6 wherein said side quence check valve to drive the second press plate members are hingeably attached to the hollow body drive means and the press plate in a rearward direcand a spacer bar is pivotally attached at each end to a tion when said source is operating at high power. side member, the length of said spacer bar being sub- 6. The combination in claim 2 additionally comprisstantially that of the width of said door along its uppering: most edge, wherein said side members can be folded a side opening door upon the outside of the hollow against the side of the hollow body when said door is body, said door being hingeably attached adjacent in its first position. its lowermost portion to the hollow body, the for- 

1. A refuse collection and compaction truck having a hollow body for holding refuse therein, means for allowing refuse to be placed therein and taken from said hollow body, a movable press plate for displacing and compacting refuse placed in the hollow body, the improvement comprising: a loading area and a compacting area each located in said hollow body, a first press plate drive means for driving under low power said press plate in one direction from the loading area to the compacting area, and in the opposite direction from the compacting area to the loading area, a second press plate drive means for driving said press plate in said one direction under high power to compact the refuse.
 2. A refuse collection and compaction truck having a hollow body for holding refuse therein, means for allowing refuse to be placed within and taken from said hollow body, a movable press plate for displacing and compacting refuse placed in the hollow body, the improvement comprising: a press plate drive means for driving said press plate in a forward direction and in a rearward direction, a second press plate drive means for driving said press plate in a rearward direction, a power source supplying both high and low power to the first and second press plate drive means, and a power source control means to actuate selectively said first and second press plate drive means under low power to move the press plate in a forward direction, under low power to move the press plate in a rearward direction and under high power to move the press plate in a rearward direction.
 3. The combination in claim 2 wherein said first press plate drive means includes a bidirectional hydraulic motor, the direction of operation of said motor being determined by the direction of flow of hydraulic fluid therethrough.
 4. The combination in claim 2 wherein said second press plate drive means includes a hydraulically operated power cylinder.
 5. The combination in claim 2 wherein said power source includes a source of pressurized hydraulic fluid said source operating at a high or low power, said power source control means including a control valve having a first and second output, said valve connected at its input to said fluid source, a first fluid pipe connected at one end to said first outlet and at its other end to said first press plate drive means, a second fluid Pipe connected at one end to said second outlet and at its other end to said first press plate drive means, a third fluid pipe connected at one end to said second fluid pipe at a location between said ou let and said first press plate drive means and at its other end to said second press plate drive means, wherein a sequence check valve is located in said fluid pipe between said one end and said other end, wherein said control valve passes fluid through said first outlet to drive the first plate means and the press plate in a forward direction when said source is operating at low power passes fluid through the second outlet to drive the first press plate drive means and the press plate in a rearward direction when said source is operating at low power, and passes fluid through the second outlet to drive the first press plate drive means and passes fluid through the third fluid pipe and through the sequence check valve to drive the second press plate drive means and the press plate in a rearward direction when said source is operating at high power.
 6. The combination in claim 2 additionally comprising: a side opening door upon the outside of the hollow body, said door being hingeably attached adjacent its lowermost portion to the hollow body, the forward most edge of said door being located adjacent the forwardmost portion of said press plate; a door operating means for moving said door between two positions, the first position of said door being substantially vertical wherein said door is substantially coextensive with the side of said hollow body and the second position of said door being substantially horizontal; and a pair of spaced planar side members attached to the outside of the hollow body adjacent the vertical edges of said side door, said side members in combination with said door forming a chute for receiving collected refuse.
 7. The combination in claim 6 wherein said door operating means comprises: a dual-acting hydraulic cylinder attached at one end to said door and at its other end to the hollow body, wherein said power source means is a hydraulic power source and said control means is hydraulic valve means interposed between said power source means and said hydraulic cylinder, said hydraulic valve means operative to activate said hydraulic cylinder and move said door between its first and second position.
 8. The combination in claim 6 wherein said side members are hingeably attached to the hollow body and a spacer bar is pivotally attached at each end to a side member, the length of said spacer bar being substantially that of the width of said door along its uppermost edge, wherein said side members can be folded against the side of the hollow body when said door is in its first position. 